


when you are younger they assume you know nothing (but i knew you)

by Lavelle16



Category: Women's Soccer RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Hogwarts, Arsenal FC, Everyone Is Gay, F/F, How Do I Tag, gay yearning i guess, just lots of idiots, leahs an oblivious idiot
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-27
Updated: 2020-09-27
Packaged: 2021-03-08 02:16:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 14,273
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26688037
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lavelle16/pseuds/Lavelle16
Summary: Leah was looking forward to a nice, quiet train ride but from the way things had started it looked like she was in for a few hours of nonstop talk. The only other person who hadn’t joined in was Vivianne who had somehow, through all the racket, managed to fall asleep in her corner.Still maybe the noise was good. It might distract her from the constant doubts that had been bouncing around in her head since she had gotten her letter earlier that month. Even now, her father's unimpressed frown and her mothers unsaid expectations rose in her mind and she shook her head to get rid of them, ignoring the odd look Keira was giving her and leaning forward to listen to Beth as she explained how her and Caitlin had only met that morning and somehow had already been told off by two perfects and one very unimpressed trolley lady.Soon enough, Leah found herself laughing along with and even joining in the antics of the very rowdy train compartment, her bad mood from earlier quickly disappearing.********the gang goes to hogwarts
Relationships: Keira Walsh/Lucy Bronze, Leah Williamson/Jordan Nobbs
Comments: 16
Kudos: 77





	1. all we have to do now is take these lies and make them true somehow

**Author's Note:**

> ehm here i am again posting some hastily written fic that’s fueled by four cups of coffee and rewatching the wwc games 
> 
> enjoy :)

“You nervous?”

Leah turned away from where she was trying to fit her trunk in the train's overhead compartment to see Keira looking at her in concern. She shook her head as she took a seat near the window, tucking her skirt carefully under her and trying not to make eye contact with her best friend.

“No.” she lied “It’s just strange finally going here after all those years of our parents preparing us for it”

Keira accepted her excuse as she sat on the seat opposite her, crossing her ankles before stretching them out and hitting Leah’s, trying to get her to laugh.

“I know. I feel like I know everything about how to be a proud witch but nothing about actually doing magic”

Leah nodded again, her smile fading slightly “I feel like I’m going to disappoint them somehow you know?”

“Leah, come on” Keira scoffed slightly across from her “How could you?

Her response was interrupted by a knock on the compartment door and they both turned to see two girls standing there. The smaller one stepped forward and flashed them a smile so bright Leah thought she would go blind if she kept looking at her.

“Hey” she greeted “All the other compartments are full, is it alright if we sit here?”

“Yeah of course” Keira scooted closer to the window “I’m Keira and that’s Leah”

“Cool. I’m Jill and that’s Vivianne. Or I usually call her Viv” she nodded back at the taller girl who half-raised her hand in greeting before flopping into the corner of the seat closer to her. 

“First year?” Leah asked Jill who had sat down a bit more carefully beside her.

“Yeah. That obvious?” 

“No, we’re first years too” Leah laughed but before anyone could say anything else, there was a crash from outside and two girls collapsed through the door Vivianne had left open and landed heavily in the middle of the four girls.

“Sorry” said the first one jumping to her feet and brushing off the dust from her jeans “Things got a bit out of control I guess. I’m Caitlin”

“Beth” said the shorter girl “Didn’t mean to _drop_ in on you” she started giggling at her own joke while Caitlin rolled her eyes.

“So,” she said loudly, dropping into a seat beside Jill “Where are you guys from?”

Leah shot Keira a _what the hell is happening?_ look but the latter just shrugged and turned back to listen as Jill launched into her apparent life story about how her and Vivianne’s parents wanted them to go to the most prestigious wizarding school in Europe. They didn’t look that much alike but with the way Jill was talking, it was hard to figure out if they were sisters or best friends. 

Leah was looking forward to a nice, quiet train ride but from the way things had started it looked like she was in for a few hours of nonstop talk. The only other person who hadn’t joined in was Vivianne who had somehow, through all the racket, managed to fall asleep in her corner.

Still maybe the noise was good. It might distract her from the constant doubts that had been bouncing around in her head since she had gotten her letter earlier that month. Even now, her father's unimpressed frown and her mothers unsaid expectations rose in her mind and she shook her head to get rid of them, ignoring the odd look Keira was giving her and leaning forward to listen to Beth as she explained how her and Caitlin had only met that morning and somehow had already been told off by two perfects and one very unimpressed trolley lady.

Soon enough, Leah found herself laughing along with and even joining in the antics of the very rowdy train compartment, her bad mood from earlier quickly disappearing. 

********

Somehow on the boat ride over, it was only Caitlin that ended up in the water.

********

The Great Hall doors were huge. Leah’s head was fully tilted back as she stared up at them.

“I’ve never felt so small.” 

Leah turned around and then laughed when she saw who had spoken.

“Vivianne, you’re like the tallest out of all the first years”

“Viv” she corrected with a small grin “Yeah, but there’s six other years full of really tall people and this castle is huge”

“Yeah, I’m not really looking forward to walking through the middle of them all”

Viv hummed thoughtfully beside her “Yeah” she murmured “What house do you think you’ll get?”

“I don’t mind” Leah swallowed down the lump in her throat that was yelling that even if she didn’t, her parents definitely did “You?” 

“Wherever Jill goes I suppose” she shrugged nonchalantly in a way Leah envied “but I’m not really fussed anyway”

Professor Wiegman cleared her throat loudly from where she was standing in front of the sea of first years and Leah and Viv immediately turned towards her, Leah pushing up on her tiptoes to see over the heads of Caitlin and Beth who were whispering furiously to each other.

“In just a few moments I will open these doors and you will walk down the hall and be sorted into the house that you will represent for the next seven years of your life” Her sharp eyes scanned over the crowd, seizing them up before she softened slightly. “The House system was made hundreds of years ago and people are much more complicated than the founders realized. We all have a bit of the four houses in us, the hat merely tries to help us with what appears most evident in your head at this time. Don’t put too much into where it sorts you but do remember it put you there for a reason”

Everyone was silent when she finished and she nodded, satisfied with their response (or rather, non-response) before turning on her heel and throwing open the doors, leading them into the Great Hall at last.

Leah’s head swiveled from side to side as she tried to take everything in. 

There were four long tables, two on each side of the room with students crammed closely together on them, staring at the first years with slight curiosity but mostly with the boredom of someone who’s seen the sorting enough times for the novelty to wear off. 

At the top of the room there was a long table with professors seating behind it, regarding the first years with varying degrees of interest but Leah could only focus on the three-legged stool in front of it with a beaten down, weathered pointy hat on it.

She was so busy taking in the Great Hall she hardly heard Professor Wiegman call the first name until she saw a mousy, brown haired boy trip over himself as he walked towards the hat. Blushing furiously, he placed the hat on his head until it slipped down over his forehead and almost covered his eyes.

There was a brief silence and then- 

_“Hufflepuff!”_

There was a loud cheer from the table closest to Leah and she glanced over quickly, her gaze seeming to stick on a small girl squished between two taller students. Her blonde hair was scraped back into a messy ponytail and her smile seemed so genuine and sweet as she clapped along with the rest of her table. Leah was just about to focus her attention back on the hat when the girl turned around and caught her eyes. 

Leah blushed slightly but before she could turn away, the girl smiled softly at her and switched her attention back to the top of the table.

“What are you looking at?” Keira elbowed her softly “They’re starting the D’s”

“Nothing” Leah murmured as she turned around again, only half listening to Keira complaining about her surname 

“Calm down” Leah laughed, even though she could feel her own nerves rising “I’ll be right here with you till the end. I’m going to be last anyway”

“Still” Keira grumbled but she lit up again when she heard Prof. Wiegman call out Caitlin’s name. “Shut up” she whispered, hitting Leah’s arm “It’s Caitlin”

“I wasn’t saying anything” Leah protested weakly but Keira just shushed her as she stared in excitement.

There were a few moments of silence until the hat yelled out _“Hufflepuff”_ and the Aussie slipped off the stool and proudly walked over to the Hufflepuff table where she instantly joined a conversation with a few second years sitting there.

The next couple of names seemed to go on forever until Beth’s name was called and she sauntered over to the hat with a confidence not unlike her.

The hat had barely touched her head before _“Gryffindor”_ was echoing around the Hall. Leah hardly had time to watch her walk over to the far table before Vivianne’s name was called. 

It seemed to be the longest time the hat had stayed on someone’s head as the seconds stretched into minutes and the Hall stayed deathly quiet.

_“Slytherin”_

Leah frowned as she watched her slouch over to the opposite side of the room and slid onto a free corner of the bench. Slytherins were bad. She had heard her aunt talk about it enough times in the kitchen at Christmas time. Her parents had always rolled their eyes when the annual rant began and shelf the wine until the next year. Still though, she remembers the narrow slit of her aunt's eyes as she talked and the bitter way she spat out the name ‘Slytherin like it burnt her tongue.

‘Viv wasn’t like that though’ she reassured herself remembering the warm smile she had sent her as they walked into the Hall for the first time and the gentle, adoring way she looked at Jill when she said something that had the rest of the girls in stitches.

“Roord, Jill”

Leah turned back to the hat as she watched Jill make her way up the steps, her walk slightly unsteady in a way Leah wouldn’t have expected from her.

The hat took less than half the time it took with Viv to make its decision with Jill.

_“Hufflepuff!”_

Leah and Keira clapped, now the only two left from their train compartment, just like they started.

“Hey” Keira murmured as she stepped closer to Leah “No matter where we get sorted, we’ll still be friends, right?”

“Of course Kei, we’ve been friends since we were kids”

“I know” she knocked her shoulder against Leah’s “I just wanted to make sure”

“Walsh, Keira”

Keira reached down and squeezed Leah’s hand once before she was gone, weaving through the crowd and sitting down on the stool, the sorting hat slipping onto her head with ease. It was quiet for a moment and then the hat was yelling _‘Ravenclaw’_ and Keira’s eyes were shining as she practically glided over to the Ravenclaw table, sitting down beside another young, blonde student who clapped her on the back as she welcomed her to their house. 

Leah turned around as her name was finally called and made her way towards the top of the room. The small walk seemed to stretch on for miles as Leah concentrated on putting one foot firmly in front of the other and trying not to show the shakiness she could feel trembling all through her body.

The hat slipped over her eyes and suddenly the room was silent. She couldn’t hear any of the quiet murmured conversations or occasional clink of cutlery, instead a scratchy voice seemed to fill her head.

She couldn’t really concentrate on what it was saying as she willed herself to stay seated firmly in her chair and wait, wait, wait until - 

_‘RAVENCLAW!’_

Leah sighed and smiled in relief as she stood up and made her way over to where Keira was making a space for her on the bench in between her and the student that had welcomed her first.

“Couldn’t stay away from me, huh?” 

“Shut it” Leah rolled her eyes as she grinned light heartedly at Keira and squeezed in between the two girls.

“Welcome to Ravenclaw. I’m Lia”

“Oh yeah? Me too” Leah laughed as she accepted the handshake Lia offered.

They switched their attention back to listen as Professor. Stoney stood up to give the welcome back speech but as they turned, Leah caught eyes with the Hufflepuff girl who was already looking her way. She smiled softly at her, giggling slightly when the girl blushed and twisted her body so fast she almost fell off her seat, being caught just in time by an older girl with a Prefect badge sitting proudly on her chest. The older brunette shook her head in exasperation but there was a fond smile tugging at her lips. 

Leah snuck one more glance at the now beet red girl before she finally started paying attention to Professor. Stoney’s speech.

_‘Wait what did she say about the third-floor corridor?’_

********

When their plates are cleared and Leah’s so full she thinks she mightn’t be able to ever eat again, the students at their table start clambering to their feet and Leah and Kiera follow their tablemate Lia over to where a tall, serious looking Prefect is gathering the first years.

“Are you a first year? I didn’t see you get sorted” Keira asks Lia as she leads them over

“No” Lia laughed. “I’m a second year but it’s my first year at Hogwarts. I moved from Beauxbatons this year so I need the same introductions you do”

“Why’d you move?” 

A frown passes over Lia’s face before she brightens up again “I just broke up with my girlfriend and I’d always wanted to travel so Hogwarts seemed the next best place”

Their conversation got cut short by the Prefect who had started talking, her voice booming all the way to the back of the crowd where the three girls were standing.

“Follow me first years. I’m Steph, your Prefect and the one you should come to if you ever need help or advice with anything. My dormitory room is always open”

She turns on her heel and walks out side by side with the Gryffindor Prefect who was leading her own group of first years out. 

“Hey” Beth’s pushed through her fellow first years until she’s walking beside Leah 

“Can’t believe I’m in a house by myself” she frowns as they trail out of the Great Hall. 

“Could be worse” Keira shrugged “You could be with Caitlin”

“That wouldn’t be worse! That would be fun”

“Oh sorry, I meant worse for your house” Keira grinned as she dodged out of the way of Beth’s shove

“Shut up” was all she could mutter back before they separated, the Gryffindors heading up the staircase while the Hufflepuffs went right deeper into the castle.

*********

She’s so caught up in trying to remember the way to the Hufflepuff common room and learning the password to get in that Lia’s words don’t really register until she’s curled up under the covers listening to the gentle, even breaths of the sleeping girls surrounding her.

_‘Girlfriend’_ she realises _‘Huh’_

********

Leah relaxes more and more as the weeks go on.

Her and Kiera only get lost three times in the first week, the moving staircases making her first year life harder than it needed to be and she quickly learns potions is her favourite subject and only partly because she adapts to it really quickly.

Mostly it’s because they share it with Gyrffindors and she enjoys flicking potion ingredients across the room where they hit Beth in the face, making her splutter and sending Leah and Keira into laughter.

The six of them make one big group and sometimes they break off into their smaller groups and eat inside but usually they all lay around outside where they don’t have to worry about sitting on benches at house tables they don’t belong to and they can soak up the last of the autumn sun before the weather gets colder and they’re forced to eat in the Great Hall.

She goes to quidditch games where she watches Steph command the Ravenclaw team with a quiet seriousness and yells her support when they win their games. 

The girl from Leah’s first day is there when they play Hufflepuff, the smallest player by far and she stays on the bench for most of the game but when she does get to play, Leah finds herself drawn to the way she flies. She’s different from how awkward and clumsy she seems on the ground, gliding around on her broom like it’s an extended part of her body and not a thin strip of wood that separates her from a 30 foot fall. 

She’s so focused on her that she doesn’t even notice the match is over until Keira’s tugging on her arm and she turns to see the Ravenclaw seeking with his hand stretched above his head, the Golden Snitch’s wings fluttering furiously in the wind.

********

She makes a note to learn how to fly like the Hufflepuff Chaser as she makes her way down the stands towards Jill and Caitlin, eager to tease them mercilessly about how they’ve overtaken them for the House Cup

********

She’s cursing over her Charms homework alone in the library, Keira turning down the study time to nap instead, when she finally gets a chance to meet her.

“I didn’t know Ravenclaws struggled with homework”

Leah swivels around in her seat to see the girl standing there with a bag hanging off her shoulder, a Potions book tucked under her arm and a small grin on her face.

“I’m smart at plenty of other things” she shots back quickly, her slight frown easing up when the other girl just laughed slightly. 

“Oh yeah? Any chance you could lend me some of that? Potions is the worst” she groans as she holds her book up, regarding it with a look of disgust.

“Really? I love Potions!” Leah brightens up at the mention of her favourite subject and the girl takes that as a sign to edge forward and drop into the seat beside her.

“In that case, is it alright if I study with you? Maybe some of your brains will rub off on me”

“Sure” Leah answers, blushing slightly when their ankles knock together under the table “I’m Leah” she says in an effort to think about anything else “Leah Williamson”

“Jordan Noobs” the girl smiles back before she pulls out a quill and some parchment and bends over her work quietly.

It takes her another moment before she can concentrate on her Charms homework again.

********

Christmas holidays come quicker than she expected. 

She bags a seat near the window in a compartment with Keira and Beth, the other two drifting off to sleep before the train even pulls out of the Hogsmeade Station. 

Caitlin, Jill and Viv stayed at the castle, their first Christmas away from family spent instead with each other and Leah’s glad she gets to spend hers right beside Keira’s family, more homesick than she’d like to admit after four months. 

********

The unspoken pressure from her family seems suffocating at times but her fathers frown stretches slightly into a smile when she steps off the train and her mother's arms engulf her in a way that’s more soothing than she’s used to and for the first time in four months, Leah exhales and feels the weight on her shoulder lessen slightly. 

********

A week after they go back to the Castle, Leah’s interrupted in the middle of her Transfiguration homework by Jordan timidly asking if she can study with her again and she tries not to laugh when Jordan almost trips over her robes in her eagerness to get to the table. 

********

After that, it becomes a routine.

They make an unspoken agreement to meet at that table in the back of the library on the days Keira has dubbed her ‘nap days’ and Leah’s free to slip away without being asked where she’s going.

She doesn’t know why she hasn’t told Keira about their study sessions. It’s not like she’s embarrassed to be hanging out with Jordan (apart from the fact that she constantly has to ask the Hufflepuff for help with Charms) but when she hasn’t told her after the first few times it seems like it’s too late to bring it up casually. 

Besides she kind of likes keeping it to herself. She doesn’t know why but when she thinks about saying it to Keira, she gets this weird voice in the back of her head telling her it’s a bad idea.

She doesn’t know why since they’re not doing anything wrong but her father always told her to trust her instincts so she keeps her mouth closed and tries to focus on Keira’s story again, something about literally running into a second year Slytherin on her way to breakfast that morning. 

Leah’s too busy wondering about what snacks Jordan will bring to the library that night (last week was Fizzing Whizbees) that she doesn’t notice the slight blush that colours Keira’s cheeks when she glances a look over at the Slytherin table as she finishes her story.

********

The Easter term is a welcome break before they’re thrown into the mayhem that is the end of the year exams. 

Keira’s nap days become more rare and Leah and Jordan’s meetings go from two or three times a week to once every Sunday. 

Beth and Viv finish first, their exams on a different schedule to Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw and Leah tries not to feel too jealous when she comes outside after her Charms exam (that went considerably less horrible than she’d expected) and finds the two of them lounging under their regular lunch tree with a girl in a Gryffindor tie that Leah doesn’t recognize.

“How’d the Charms go?”

“Not terribly” Leah shrugs as she collapses down beside Beth and reaches out to grab a Chocolate Cauldron from the pile of them in the middle of the three girls. “As long as I don’t fail”

“I doubt that” the Gryffindor girl snorts “No one can do as bad as my first year Charms. Got a full 18%”

“Jesus” Viv mutter beside her “Even I won’t do that bad”

“Shut it you” she nudges her lightly with a teasing frown before she turns back to Leah “I’m Lisa”

“Leah” she replies, accepting the hand Lisa holds out “You’re not in first year?”

“Nah” she shakes her head and it’s a Scottish accent Leah realizes at last “I’m in second but I met Beth here when she roped me into planning a prank on Ellen” she whistles through her teeth as she shakes her head “We chatted during the weeks detention we got”

“Idiot” Viv mutters under her breath but there’s a small smile tugging at her lips that betrays her teasing words.

Beth shoots Leah a look when Lisa launches herself on top of Viv, in a rebuttal attack and starts talking loudly about how long they’ve been waiting for her to finish her exams. Leah shoots back a retort but it takes her half a second longer than normal, her gaze still focused towards the normally lazy Viv, rolling around in a tickle fight with this new Gryffindor girl. 

There’s something about the smile on Viv’s face that’s directed towards the still sprawled out Lisa, when she props herself up on her elbows that seems familiar to Leah but she can’t figure out what it is. 

Eventually Keira drags herself out of the Hall and down to the lake, complaining about the heat messing with her head and Leah’s attention is focused on something else. 

********

Leah thinks she might be the only one who notices Viv’s eyes are brighter than normal when she slips back into the train compartment on the way home for the summer after having disappeared to the bathroom for the last twenty minutes.

********

Jill teases her about being lost without her and Viv bites her lip to tamper down a grin that seems to have nothing to do with the girl's banter at all.

*********


	2. i don't want to look at anything else now i saw you

Their second year starts almost the same way their first year did but this time it’s Jill who finds herself falling off their tightly filled carriage as they make their way up the bumpy track towards the Castle. 

Beth manages to get a picture with the camera she had permanently attached to herself sometime over the course of summer and Leah sneaks into Jill's room that night to stick it all around her bed.

*********

The picture Caitlin gets the next day of Jill waking up to find the picture of her fall surrounding her is almost better than the original one.

*********

“You trying out for quidditch this year?”

Leah blinks as she emerges from her cocoon of homework that her Professors set her on only the second week back to see Jordan looking at her expectantly, her own quill laying abandoned on her Potions homework.

“Maybe. I wasn’t really thinking about it I guess”

“You should. You look like it would suit you”

Jordan blushes when Leah raises an eyebrow at her and she stammers out an explanation. “I just mean you have the shoulders for it. Beaters need to be strong”

“Yeah? Is that why you’re a Chaser then?”

Jordans blush disappears as she rolls her eyes, well used to Leah’s teasing at this stage. “Shut up”

Leah giggles as she turns back to her essay again. “Maybe I will. I’d love to have bragging rights over you”

“As if” Jordan retorts but her fake look of annoyance slips into an endearing smile that Leah doesn’t notice as she frowns at her notes again.

It takes another minute before Jordan focuses on her own work.

*********

Her friend group slowly starts to expand without Leah noticing.

First it’s Lisa, the Gryffindor girl she met last year that always seems to be tagging along with Beth. She’s joined by two other Gryffindor's third years who introduce themselves as Katie and Danielle, or Daan as she insists. 

They’re usually the ones that Beth and Caitlin drag into pranks with them and Leah doesn’t see them as often because they’re usually stuck in detentions as a result.

Lia had always been Leah and Keira’s friend but this is the first year she joins them outside at lunch instead of eating with the other third years. 

‘They’re not as fun’ she shrugs simply as an explanation and when Leah turns around to explain the History homework to a frowning Viv, she misses the soft grin Lia sends to Caitlin who’s leaning casually against the base of the tree trunk after opting out of her usual shenanigans today in favour of a quiet lunchtime.

It’s only when Katie throws a piece of her orange peel at Caitlin, hitting her right in the forehead and Lisa bursts out into infectious laughter from where she’s lounging beside Viv that Leah realizes most of the girls are outside today apart from Beth and Daan who she hasn’t seen since breakfast. 

She distantly hopes they don’t get caught in another detention and miss too many more of their outside lunches before Viv’s asking her about another question and her attention is captured again.

********

Her and Keira both decide to try out for the Ravenclaw team that year. They’re some of the smallest players there and certainly not the fastest but when they land on the ground afterwards, Steph nods approvingly at them and something like hope flickers in Leah’s chest.

********

They get the official confirmation a few days later at breakfast when Steph and the Gryffindor captain, Ellen White, make their way over to them to break the news.

Leah faintly wonders why the captain of a rival team came with her but she’s tugged into a crushing hug by Keira and she turns away before she can see the prefects' hands brushing together as they walk side by side, slightly closer than called for.

********

It’s not one of Keira’s ‘nap days’ but the younger girl had disappeared before dinner, muttering something about needing to talk to Professor Marley and Leah decides to make the trip to the library in the hopes Jordan might be there.

She’s just rounding the last bookshelf, her mouth falling open to say hi when she stops in her tracks. 

There’s a bigger boy, fourth year at least, towering over Jordan’s small frame and Leah can see the way Jordan's hands are clenched into fists to stop them from shaking.

“Have no friends mudblood? Is that why you’re always by yourself back here?”

“Hey” Leah finds her voice and the boy turns around, his sneer turning into a smirk when he sees her standing there. “Leave her alone”

“Or what? You going to hex me?” he mocks

Leah strides over and forces herself between the two of them as she draws herself up to her full height, only smaller than him by a few inches. She can faintly feel Jordan's hand clutch on to the back of her robes.

“No,” she starts, her voice strong “but I will punch you”

The boy narrows his eyes at her before he steps back, shaking his head “Whatever. She’s not even worth it”

Leah doesn’t realize her hand is clutched in a fist until he disappears around the bookshelf again and Jordan’s hand slips over her own, easing her hand apart.

“Sorry you had to get in the middle of that” she mumbles, staring down at her feet

“What? He’s the one who should be apologizing Jord!” Leah’s eyes are hard but they soften when she takes in Jordan's trembling frame “Did he hurt you?”

“No. I just hate that word” 

“It shouldn’t mean anything”

“But it does” Jordan shoots back angrily and Leah only realizes she’s still holding Jordan's hand when she squeezes it tightly in response. 

“Come on” Leah whispers quietly “Let’s go get some dinner.”

*********

“Do you always eat back there?” Leah asks as they meander down the empty halls, enjoying the rare silence in the usually bustling Castle.

Jordan shakes her head slowly. She still hasn’t made eye contact with Leah since they left the library and it’s beginning to worry the younger girl slightly.

“I eat with Lucy but she had a quidditch meeting and I didn’t want to be by myself in the Great Hall”

“She’s not a Hufflepuff?”

“Slytherin” Jordan mutters and Leah feels her heart drop slightly.

‘Not every Slytherin is like that. They’re not’ she reminds herself even as her aunts vicious words echo in her head.

She thinks of Viv then and her gentle smile and reassuring words and how the only evil thing about her is how effortlessly skilled she is at quidditch . 

‘Not every Slytherin is like that’ she frowns to herself and finds herself starting to believe it. 

Jordan’s still silent and Leah forgets about Slytherins in favour of something more important. She reaches out and tugs on Jordan's hand to stop her up in the middle of the hallway.

“He’s jealous” she says “Jealous that you’re younger and smaller but still twice the quidditch player and witch he’ll ever be”

“Yeah maybe because he’s not a witch”

“Jordan” she huffs and rolls her eyes “You know what I mean and you know it’s true. That _word_ is just an outdated insult that cowards use because they’re scared of being outshone. You believe me, right?”

“Sure” Jordan nods robotically but she finally looks up and her eyes are a lighter brown than they were in the library. 

Leah squeezes her hand one last time before she lets go, leading Jordan into the Great Hall and over to where some of the girls are gathered around the Ravenclaw table, bar Keira. 

It only occurs to her that she’s never introduced Jordan to any of her friends when she’s a few steps away from reaching the table.

“Hey” her voice cracks slightly and she clears her throat before she tries again “This is Jordan. Jordan, this is...everyone”

She slips in beside Katie and Jordan sits on her other side as the girls take their turns introducing themselves. 

“You play for Slytherin, right?” she asks Viv and when she nods, Jordan frowns slightly. “I thought you had a quidditch meeting?”

“Not that I know of” Viv shrugs before her attention is torn away by Lisa again.

“Why would she lie?” Jordan whispers to Leah when everyone is distracted by their own conversations again and the overlapping chatter provides a cover for their own quiet discussion

“Maybe she mixed the days up” Leah shrugged “I’m sure it’s just a mistake”

Jordan nods and turns towards her plate again but Leah scans over the top table quickly and frowns when she sees Professor Marley talking to her History teacher, Professor Cushing.

She makes a note to talk to Keira about it before Jordan’s nudging her knee and she’s dragged back into the familiar banter of her friends. 

********

They’re doing their potions homework by the fire in the common room that night, long after everyone’s gone to bed when Leah brings it up.

“Where’d you go before dinner today?” 

“I told you I went to talk to Marley about the Herbology homework” Keira frowns at her homework as she answers without looking up.

“Then how come I saw Marley in the Great Hall when you were meant to be meeting her?” Leah can’t step the note of acquisition in her voice and Keira snaps her head up to look at her but she doesn’t say anything. Leah sighs and deflates, her anger disappearing as quickly as it had arrived.

“You know you can tell me anything, right?”

Keira fiddles with the edge of her parchment, avoiding Leah’s gaze “I know that. I was just getting my jumper back off a friend”

“Who?” Leah frowned, trying to think who else was missing from dinner that day.

“You don’t know her, she’s in the year above. It’s just,” Keira bit her lip as she trailed off and when she spoke again it was in a quiet murmur “she’s a Slytherin and I know you can be...a little weird about that. When Viv was sorted you didn’t talk to her properly for like two weeks after that”

“I’m trying to get better Kei, I am. It’s just my family…”

“They have something against them.”

“Yeah” Leah ndded “I’m sorry you felt like you couldn’t tell me about your friend because of that. I’d really like to meet her”

“Yeah?” Keira grinned “Well, her birthday is coming up. Her and her friend are sneaking into the kitchen for a midnight feast and she asked me to go with them. You could join?” 

“Yeah?” Leah nodded to herself “I’d like that”

Keira smiled at her and the tension that had filled the room at the beginning of their conversation seemed to fade away as Keira leaned over to ask for help with her homework.

It was a peace offering Leah knew and she smiled slightly as she slid over her own essay for Keira to copy.

*********

Really, Leah deserves better friends. Instead of waiting for her like an actual friend would, Keira had just laughed when Leah realized she’d left her jumper behind and kept walking towards the Castle doors, leaving Leah to run down to the changing rooms and get it herself.

She slows down to a walk when she sees the lights still on and she can hear voices getting louder as she edges further. 

“You looked really good out there tonight”

“Oh yeah?” Steph’s laugh is unmistakable “You know flattery isn’t going to get me to give up team secrets, right?”

“What, I can’t give my favourite quidditch player a compliment anymore?”

Leah rounds the corner and sees Steph leaning against the wall, Ellen only inches away. They seem caught up in their own world until Leah hits her leg off the bench and they spring apart instantly. 

“Leah?” Steph exclaims, her voice an octave higher than usual “What are you doing?”

“Uh, I left my jumper” Leah stammers as she points over to her cubby where the jumper in question is hanging up. 

She crosses the room quickly and grabs it before rushing out the door and back up to the Castle again.

“Hey” Keira grins when she bursts into the dormitories “What took you so long?”

“Huh?” Leah gasps, her mind still reeling from what she walked in on.

What _exactly_ had she walked in on?

Keira raised an eyebrow and Leah realizes she still hasn’t answered her “Oh, ran into Steph. I’m going for a shower”

Keira’s frown deepened as she stared at Leah “We just had one”

“Yeah but I still feel sweaty. Back in a bit” she flees the room again before Keira can ask her any questions. 

She’s so caught up in her thoughts that she barrels around a corner in a rush and knocks into a figure, sending them both flying backwards. When she sits up, she sees Jordan leaning on her elbows blinking rapidly.

“Oh hello. In a rush?” 

“Just a little” Leah pants as she gets to her feet and extends an arm to pull Jordan up. She pulls a little too hard and Jordan stumbles forward into her chest. Leah shoots out a hand to steady her as Jordan's hands fall to her hips.

“Hey” Leah repeats dumbly, Jordan’s perfume clouding her thoughts slightly

“Hey” Jordan replies again, blushing slightly as she drops her hands and steps back from Leah “Where were you going anyway?”

“Just for a walk” Leah says quickly, wincing when Jordan frowns at her.

“Alright” she drags out the word disbelievingly “Well I’m going to the owlery. Want to come with?”

“Who are you sending a letter to at this time of night?”

“Oh” Jordan blushed again and looked down at her feet “I meant to send it this morning but I forget and Lucy reminded me at lunch but then I forgot again and now I just remembered and I don’t want to forget again”

Leah laughed at Jordan’s now familiar trait of forgetfulness. “Of course you did.” she shakes her head as she steps beside Jordan and they start in the direction of the owerly again. “Just don’t forget to send it when we get there”

“Shut up” Jordan mumbles as she knocks Leah’s elbow with her own. Leah’s giggles echo down the hallway and all thoughts of Steph and Ellen disappear from her mind.

*********

Their first game of that season is against Gryffindor and Leah finds a seat beside Keira on the bench, watching Beth take one on the bench opposite them. She sticks out her tongue at them and they roll their eyes in response before the whistle blows and their attention is diverted to the game instead. 

It’s a close match. Gryffindor are only twenty points ahead when their own Seeker, a fifth year boy, makes a dive for the edge of the far stand and pulls up from the ground just in time with the Golden Snitch clutched tightly in his hand and a bright grin on his face.

She’s distracted by Keira pulling her over to Beth so they can take advantage of their bragging rights so she doesn’t see the hug Steph pulls Ellen into and the way their captain trails her hand down the Gryffindor's back before she pulls away. 

What she does see is Jordan’s energetic wave from where she’s sitting in the stands beside a serious looking girl with a Slytherin scarf. Leah sends a shy wave back and doesn’t notice the soft smile Keira directs to her friend.

“Boast about this too much and I’ll throw you in with the Giant Squid” Beth threatens and the two Ravenclaws turn around again, with matching guilty looks, like they'd been caught doing something they shouldn't be. Beth glances between the two of them and back towards the stand before shaking her head and heading off the pitch.

“Come on,” she calls over her shoulder “I’m starving”

********

“Be quiet” Keira hisses as she peers around the corner carefully before stepping out and creeping towards the stairs

“I _am_ being quiet” Leah grumbles as she follows, rolling her eyes at her friends dramatics

“Well be quieter”

Leah reaches out her foot and Keira stumbles over it slightly before righting herself and glaring at Leah. She turns around again and continues down a hall Leah’s never been down. There are pictures lining the walls but Keira takes no notice until she reaches one of a fruit bowl. She reaches out and scratches at it until, to Leah’s shock, the pear suddenly starts giggling and changes into a door knob with a _pop_. 

“How did you know that?” 

“Lucy showed me” she shrugs in response “now come on”

They crept down the dark hall behind the painting until they could see a sliver of light and they turned a corner into the biggest kitchen Leah had ever seen.

“Hey, you made it” 

The girl walking towards them looks oddly familiar to Leah but she can’t place her until the girl she was sitting beside turns around and Leah knows exactly who that is.

“Jordan?” 

“Wait, you guys know each other?” Keira’s looking between them in confusion

“We study together sometime” Jordan shrugs nonchalantly and Leah doesn’t miss the quick eyebrow raise that the Slytherin sends her. 

“I’m Leah” she says instead of commenting on it and the girl is quick to extend a hand

“Lucy” she replies “Come sit down. We’re just about to have cake”

Leah climbs onto a stool beside Jordan, opposite Keira and eagerly accepts the slice of cake handed to her by Lucy.

“So how did you guys meet?” she asks as she picks up a fork and digs into her food.

“Eh, met on a walk outside” Keira concentrates on picking up her own fork and doesn’t look up as she answers.

“Since when do you go on walks?” Leah laughed and Jordan frowns across at Lucy, a look exchanged between them that Leah can’t decipher. She feels like she’s on the outside of an inside joke and she doesn’t like it.

“Well Kei was sleeping. I was walking”

“I wasn’t sleeping!” Keira exclaims, slapping Lucy “I was relaxing and I wouldn’t have been bothered if _someone_ didn’t fall over me”

“It’s not my fault you were basically hidden behind the tree”

“Maybe you should have looked around you”

Lucy rolls her eyes but it’s more fond than anything else and Leah narrows her eyes at them, not sure what she’s missing but she knows there's something she just can’t see.

She can’t figure it out before Jordan nudges her and she gets pulled into a conversation herself. Jordan’s shoulder is pressed against hers and it heats up the right side of her body in an otherwise cold kitchen. The buzzing in her body at that simple touch distracts her from noticing the way Keira and Lucy’s feet are intertwined completely under the table. 

It seems she’s missing a lot of things this year.

********

(she doesn’t miss the way jordan blushes deeply when she wipes a dab of cream off her chin but she can’t figure out why she does)

********

Leah opts out of going home that Christmas. She feeds a lie to her parents about a failing Charms grade (which isn’t that far off) and says her goodbyes to her friends at the Castle doors. Caitlin stays back for her second Christmas in a row and the two of them are joined by Lia as well. 

Leah gets all of her homework out of the way in the first few days and the three of them spend most of the time there playing quidditch in the snow and then coming up to either of their common rooms to dry off because they always inevitably end up in a snowball fight and if Leah’s one thing for sure, it’s competitive so things always end up becoming extreme.

It’s her first Christmas away from home and while she doesn’t mind missing her aunt's drunken rants or the uncomfortable questions about grades and how she’s still not breaking into the starting quidditch team, she does miss her mother's homemade Christmas cake and how her father always knows exactly what to get her.

Still, she feels at home in Hogwarts and when she wakes up on Christmas morning to find a parcel with her name on it, the label clearly Jordan’s messy scribble, her heart skips just a bit and she’s glad she doesn’t have to explain her flushed cheeks to her family.

She thinks Caitlin and Lia might notice but they don’t say anything when she makes her way downstairs, too busy whispering quietly together despite the practically empty Ravenclaw common room.

*********

(if she looked up from the potions book jordan had sent her she might have seen their hands resting on top of each other on the couch but she didn’t and so she doesn’t)

*********

They have one week off before quidditch starts again, pressure mounting as they go into the second half of the year and it starts with a game against Hufflepuff.

Leah’s surprised when she and Keira get pulled aside on their way to class one day and get told they’ll be starting the game but she gets downright nervous when Steph waves Keira off and keeps Leah alone.

“I just wanted to talk” she starts, chewing on her lip thoughtfully like she does in matches when their thirty points down and she tries to figure out a different strategy “Is everything ok with you?”

“Yeah?” Leah answers hesitantly “should it not be?”

“No! I just wanted to make sure. I’m Prefect and the quidditch captain after all. I have to look after the younger ones''

“Ok” Leah’s tempted to ask why she didn’t ask Keira as well but she doesn’t think she’ll get an honest answer and she’s already late enough for Herbology as it is. Professor Marley’s understanding but she hates tardiness. “Is that all?”

“Yeah, yeah I guess it is” Steph nods and Leah turns and hurries away as fast as she can without running.

Thankfully, her Herbology class is distracting enough that she doesn’t get time to dwell on her captain’s weird behavior as she slips in between Beth and Keira, shrugging when Keira sends her a questioning look. 

********

She’s beside Jordan in the tunnel and she has her game face on until Jordan reaches out to knock her own broom against Leah’s, sending her a grin that Leah can’t help but return. 

“Try to stay on your broom out there Williamson”

“Try to dodge the Bludgers I hit at you Nobbs” she shots back, a grin curling around her mouth and there’s no time for Jordan’s retort as Professor Williams blows her whistle and they march out to the field.

********

(Leah only manages to hit Jordan broom twice before she’s subbed off for Lia but the shocked look on Jordan’s face each time is still priceless)

********

Leah is ready to kill Jill. Or maybe just lock her in a cupboard until April is over.

It was the first day of the month when Jill bounded into the Great Hall and over to where their group had gathered at the Slytherin table with a giant badge on her chest that read:

_It’s my birth ~~day~~ month_

And it only got worse from there. 

Clearly she was expecting some big celebration if the way she kept hinting towards a surprise party was any indication. 

“Maybe we should do something.” Daan mused as she threw a grape towards Beth's open mouth. It hit her chin and rolled off into the grass.

“But what? Somehow I don’t think it counts as a surprise party if the person in question is expecting it” Lisa snorted from where she was sprawled out on Viv’s lap, the other girl idly flipping through her Charms book, one hand stroking the Scottish girls hair.

“I know!” Katie exclaimed, springing up from where Leah thought she had fallen asleep “Let’s have a party in the Room of Requirement. Jill’s always wanted to find it”

“That’s a great idea but you’re forgetting one thing. None of us know how to get into it”

“Lucy does. She’s showed me but I don’t know how to get in”

Leah turned to Keira with a slight frown, the question of why she showed her exactly on the tip of her tongue but Katie spoke again before she could.

“That’s great. Let’s just ask Lucy to show us and then we can set things up”

“That’s not a bad idea actually”

“Well, I am one of the smartest people here but I’m sure you already knew that” 

Katie’s smug grin faded when a grape hit her square in the forehead and the rest of the girls burst into laughter.

“Real mature” she grumbled as she reclined out on the grass again “Just ‘cos you’re jealous”

The second grape hits her in the eye and finally shuts her up.

********

Of course, Leah and Keira end up being the ones who organise Jill's party. 

Originally there was meant to be eleven of them but Beth and Daan has soon disappeared, claiming they needed to distract Jill so she wouldn’t wonder where they were (as if she could get into the Room in the first place), dragging Caitlin and Lia with them. Katie was stuck in detention again and while Viv and Lisa were there trying to help, they were more of a nuisance than anything else. 

Every few minutes, Leah would get hit in the head by a stray pillow from where they started a pillow fight or else they’d stand over in the corner ‘making decorations’ with their heads bent close together and a fit of giggles erupting from one of them occasionally. 

Finally Keira rolls her eyes and gives them the job of collecting the food from the kitchen in an effort to get rid of them. 

Now it’s just the two of them and Lucy and Jordan who are focusing on hanging up a banner on the far wall. 

Leah and Keira work quietly side by side, blowing up balloons and making streamers. 

“God she’s lucky we’re such good friends” Keira mutters quietly, breaking the silence of the last twenty minutes. 

Leah hums in response, her mind still stuck on their conversation beside the lake last week. 

The question of why exactly Lucy had shown Keira this room was bouncing around in her head as well as how Keira had furiously avoided eye contact and moved the conversation on after. 

She’s so caught up in her thoughts that she doesn’t realise Keira’s calling her until she gets a sharp elbow in her side. 

“Hm? Sorry what did you say?”

Keira frowned but she turned back to the streamer she was twisting together “I asked why you’re so quiet. Still upset about that Charms homework?”

“No it went well after all” Leah can’t help the glance she sends over to Jordan, who had helped her with the homework in question yesterday and when she does she sees Lucy standing beside her as they admire their hanging abilities. It reminds her of why she was so lost in her thoughts in the first time. 

“Why exactly did Lucy show you this place in the first place?” 

Keira looks back down at the balloon as she concentrated on finishing it with a knot. She shrugs in an attempt to be casual but they’ve been friends since they were kids and Leah recognises the way she starts tapping her foot in a poor attempt at concealing her nerves. 

“We were looking for somewhere to study when it was raining and the library was full so we ended up here”

Leah narrowed her eyes at her friend. If that was all then why was Keira being so weird about it? She feels like it’s that night in the kitchen again and she’s missing a crucial piece of the puzzle that would finally show her the full picture. 

She wants to push, knows Keira can’t lie for too long before she breaks but she also knows Keira hates being rushed into telling her anything when she feels like she doesn’t have a choice so instead she just nods and let’s it slide, picking up another streamer and continuing their work in silence again. 

********

Jill does a horrible job of acting surprised when Viv leads her in with her hands over her eyes but the way her face lights up is still hilarious when she sees the ice cream machine in the corner. 

The twelve of them sit around in a circle, some in the couches provided while others recline in cushions on the floor. 

They play truth or dare and never have I ever and other muggle games Jordan and Caitlin teach them. Leah tried to catch Keira’s eye when Lia admits to having a crush on someone in their year with her face flaming red, eager to start the teasing of their friend but Keira’s already laughing about something with Lucy. 

When Daan shifts backwards against Beth, she opens a small space where Leah thinks she catches a glance of Lucy arm curled around Keira’s waist but before she can check again, Katie’s asking her ‘truth or dare’ and her attention turns elsewhere. 

*********

(later that night when they’re all laid out on the floor in a pile of blankets and leah can hear jordan’s soft snores beside her lure her into a soft sleep, she’s distantly thankfully she picked dare instead of truth)

(she’s too tired to realise people don’t usually get afraid of being asked why their heart skips slightly when they see a small Hufflepuff third year across the room and when she wakes up in the morning, the thought has completely fled her mind)

********

The last week of exams seemingly comes out of nowhere but Leah feels confident in each one and often finds herself lounging outside under their usual tree, waiting for her friends to finish their own exams. 

Most times she’s joined by Keira right after but sometimes she ends up going off with Lucy and Keira finds she doesn’t mind as much when it means Jordan joins her and they try to figure out ways to coax the Giant Squid to the surface of the lake. 

********

They split into two compartments opposite each other for the twelve of them and this time Viv doesn’t sneak off to the bathroom. 

Instead she sits closely beside Lisa, her head thrown back in laughter at Beth and Daans antics opposite her and she doesn’t fall asleep at all. 

Leah’s own compartment is much quieter as they exchange stories with Caitlin and Lia and stuff themselves on sweets from the trolley, laughing when Keira’s chocolate frog wiggles right out of her hand and smacks Jordan in the face. 

********

(leah helps her to the bathroom to find tissues to wipe the chocolate smeared on her face and ignores the butterflies in her stomach when they squeeze in the too small bathroom, leah’s back against the sink and jordan’s arms brushing her stomach) 

*********

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hope you enjoyed and as always pls leave a comment if you can because it's basically the only thing that motivates me to keep writing this :)


	3. were there clues i didn’t see?

It’s Steph’s last year to claim the Quidditch cup and she’s determined to do it if the furious training Leah’s thrown into on her first weekend back is any indication. 

There’s a new Seeker this year, a second year boy who’s the fastest flyer Leah’s seen in quite some time and he reads the game with scary precision, anticipating Leah’s move before she even thinks of it herself. 

Her and Keira land on the ground when training’s over panting hard but feeling good nonetheless, a hope blooming in Leah that she might lift the cup this year after watching Slytherin and Gryffindor do it respectively in her previous years. 

“We’ve got to win this year” Keira grins as they trudge up to the castle “I have to rub it in Lucy’s face after last year”

“Yeah” Leah nods in agreement “Can’t have Slytherin winning everything and Ian is definitely a match for Viv. We actually do have a chance”

Their conversation is interrupted by a surprised shriek of laughter behind them and they turn to see Ellen spinning Steph around. Almost in sync, they start heading down to them again. 

“I knew you’d be first choice” she says when she places Steph back on the ground and the Ravenclaws response is cut short when she sees the two girls standing there. 

“Good news?” 

“I’ll say” Ellen grins widely from beside her, her arm still around Steph’s waist. “Your captain here just got approached by Appleby Arrows. They want to sign her after this year!” 

“That’s amazing”

“Well done” 

Keira and Leah say at the same time, pulling Steph into a hug before they wave goodbye and leave the two seventh years by themselves again. 

“Think that’ll be us someday?”

“God I hope so. As long as we’re on the same team, right?”

“Not sick of me yet?” Keira teases but her grin fades into a softer smile as she pulls Leah into an awkward side hug “Of course. I’m not leaving you anytime soon”

*********

When the warm sunny days of September fade into rainy winter days, their gang slowly moves from studying outside to the warm, hide away that is the Room of Requirement. It’s usually where they go if the common room is too noisy or the library’s full and they just need a quiet space for themselves. 

This time though, Leah and Keira were studying in their dormitory until Keira had fallen asleep right there on her books and Leah’s stomach started rumbling so loudly she’s afraid she’ll wake her. 

It’s only seven o’clock so she has plenty of time to go down to the kitchen and make herself a sandwich or something else to satisfy herself. 

When she rounds the corner into the kitchen she sees Lucy already there, fiddling around with the kettle. 

“Oh hey” 

Lucy turns in shock when she hears her, her hand coming up to fiddle with the glasses sitting on the edge of her nose. 

“Hey. What are you doing here?” 

“Study break” Leah wanders over to where Lucy is and starts searching for the ingredients for her sandwich. 

They’re silent for a moment as Leah searches the cupboards and Lucy sips at her tea. 

“I never really asked, how did you and Jordan meet?”

“Eh we studied together in the library one day and it kind of became a routine i guess” 

Leah shrugs casually but she can feel Lucy’s gaze heavy on her and it feels like she has to answer this right to pass some kind of test. She doesn’t know what kind of test it is but when Lucy nods and smiles again she lets out a sigh of relief, the brief tension evaporating as quickly as it had come and returns the smile. 

“Come on, I’ll walk you back. I gotta tell you about that time last year Keira almost got in a fight with a fifth year. “

Leah’s laugh bounces off the walls, filling the air and that lay empty space she had felt like it was slowly being filled at last.

*********

They don’t get a chance to visit Hogsmeade until the Halloween holidays. 

Leah, Keira, Jordan and Lucy set off together just the four of them and spent almost two hours exploring the village before they collapse into a booth in the Three Broomsticks for a late lunch. 

They’re freezing as they shuffle pitifully into a back corner near the fireplace. Leah’s squished in between Keira and Jordan and she can feel the heat of their arms and legs pressing against her own. By the time they’re on their second Butterbeer and she’s halfway through her bowl of soup, Leah can finally feel herself warm up. They sit around for another twenty minutes before they can see it’s getting dark outside and they decide to pack up.

Lucy and Keira disappear to the bathroom before they start their trek up to the Castle again so Jordan goes up to pay, leaving Leah at the booth to wait for the two girls to come back. She’s moved seats so she’s sitting on the edge of the booth instead of where she’d been previously sitting in the middle and now she can see the other side of the pub where two familiar seventh year figures are sitting. 

Ellen and Steph are tucked in close together despite being the only two at their table and Leah thinks she sees Ellens arm around Stephs shoulder before they shift and suddenly Jordan’s standing in front of her again. 

“Hey, Lucy and Keira walked right by. You ready to go?”

“Huh?” When Leah finally focuses on what Jordan’s saying to her, there’s a look of confusion on the older girls face that only deepens when she glances back to where Ellen and Steph were sitting.

“Come on” Jordan nods back to where their friends are waiting at the door and Leah lets herself be tugged away by her hands.

********

(it’s only when they reach the bottom of the staircase and have to separate that Leah realizes she hasn’t let go of Jordan’s hand the whole way home)

********

Games against Slytherin are always tough and this one’s no exception. They’re almost an hour into the game when Leah’s subbed off, flopping onto her seat on the bench and settling back to watch the rest, cheering on Keira and Lia whenever they even touch the ball. 

Another fifteen minutes go by of points being exchanged easily, the quaffle going from each end of the stadium like a ping pong ball when their seeker makes a dive for the far stand, Viv right on his tail and gaining rapidly. They reach it at the same time and Leah can see their hands knocking back in froth in the air as they battle for control. They both crash to the ground, still rolling but when they pull apart it’s Viv who holds her fist proudly in the air, the Snitch’s wings fluttering weakly in the air.

Leah slides off the bench dejectedly and heads towards the pitch where supporters of all houses are gathering.

“Hard luck” Jordan appears at her elbow with a blue scarf around her neck and a sympathetic grimace on her face. “You played well”

“Thanks Jord” Leah accepts the hug she offers, patting her back affectionately before she realizes something and leans back. “Are you wearing a Ravenclaw scarf?”

Jordan blushes slightly and shrugs half heartedly “Slytherin beat us last time, I wasn’t about to go wearing their colours in front of Lucy”

“Come on” Leah grinned “I want to show Lucy who your new favourite is”

********

Seriously. 

Leah needs better friends.

If Keira’s going to make a habit of leaving her behind after quidditch then she’s going to find someone who’ll actually wait. Just because she had stayed talking to Jordan for a little longer after the game and therefore is last to get to the showers, she is once again left to make the journey up to the Castle by herself. 

It’s getting dark outside already despite only being six o’clock thanks to the November month and Leah hesitates when she sees something moving over by the Ravenclaw stand. She debates it for a moment before quietly walking closer until she can make out the shapes.

It’s Ellen and Steph but there’s something different about them in this dark corner than there usually is when she sees them around the Castle and it’s almost embarrassing how long it takes Leah to register what she’s seeing. 

They’re pressed so close together they’re almost the same person . Ellens hands are on Steph’s hips, pressing her back against the stand and Steph's hands are twisted tightly in her hair. Their mouths are moving furiously against each other and Leah looks on in shock, her mind screaming at her to move but her feet rooted in place. 

They haven’t noticed her yet but then Ellen pulls back to trail her lips down Stephs neck and Steph moans - honest to god _moans_ \- and her eyes flutter open, looking right at Leah and she pushes away from Ellen like she’s been burnt.

Ellen’s forehead furrows in confusion until she turns and sees Leah still standing, mouth open in shock and then her features turn into one of guilt.

“Leah,” Steph starts stepping forward, an imploring look on her face with one hand outstretched slightly but Leah’s already turning on her heel and scampering up to the Castle as quickly as she can.

Distantly she can hear Ellen muttering _’shit’_ as she disappears up the pathway.

********

They find her ten minutes later sitting at the Ravenclaw table staring blankly at the wooden table, the only other student in there apart from a sixth year Gryffindor bent over his homework. They sit down carefully opposite her, a few inches of space between them that there usually never is. Leah stares through it as she feels Stephs nervous gaze on her.

“Sorry you saw that” Ellen mutters finally breaking the silence that had fallen over them. 

“It’s not how we wanted you to find out” Steph adds on

“It’s fine” Leah chokes out but it’s obviously not because she still can’t look either of them in the eye and Stephs not saying anything and Ellen tapping her fingers against the table, the noise echoing loudly in Leah’s head until she can’t stand it anymore.

“It’s fine” she chokes out again before she clambers to her feet and rushes up to her dormitory. 

*********

(she’s still awake when Keira creeps in just before the sun rises and she’s too distracted to give it any thought or bother about asking her where she went.)

********  
She starts to notice a lot of things that she didn’t before. 

At breakfast that morning, her eyes sweep over the Gryffindor table out of habit but they stop when she sees the two quidditch captains sitting together, whispering as they share food between them. Ellen makes eye contact with her but Leah tears her gaze away before she even opens her mouth, hurrying to catch up with Jill who’s walking ahead of her.

When she walks past a group of older Ravenclaws on her way to History, she thought she saw Ellen in the group but they spread out and it’s Steph with Ellen’s number 18 Gryffindor jumper instead.

She’s still a little out of it when lunchtime comes around and she opts to head to the library instead of the Great Hall with the rest of the girls. She’s sitting at her and Jordan’s usual table, tracing over where they’d scratched their initials in one afternoon when she’s interrupted.

“You feeling alright? The girls were worried about you”

Lisa steps closer to the table when Leah just nods halfheartedly and drops her head to the table again.

“It’s not the Slytherin win is it? Because I know Viv won’t shut up about it” she laughs but it fades away quickly when Leah can’t even manage a weak grin. Lisa sighs and takes a seat beside her.

“Do you want to talk about it or do you want to sit here in silence?”

“It’s just...” Leah sighs and trails off, already at a loss for words but she tries again. “Do you ever feel like you know someone but then they do something you’d never expect from them, and it’s not necessarily a bad thing but it’s unusual and then it kind of makes you overthink everything?”

Lisa's expression gets more confused the longer that Leah rambles but when she sits back she feels a little lighter for having at least partly told someone about what had been playing nonstop in her mind. Lisa nods slowly and she bites her lip as she tries to figure out what to say.

“I guess sometimes people do surprise you but as long as what they’re surprising you about isn’t bad or anything then does it really matter?”

“I guess not” Leh mumbles into the table

“You don’t seem convinced. Was it bad?”

“No!” Leah rushes to correct her, ignoring the odd look Lisa gave her at her outburst. “Just confusing”

Lisa nods but she doesn’t say anything and they spend the rest of their lunch hour sitting there in that familiar, quiet back section of the library. It feels safe and comfortable to Leah even if the girl sitting beside her isn’t wearing the house colours she had come accustomed to seeing in that secret nook. 

********

She goes home for Christmas and it gets a little easier to breathe. 

Her mind still flashes back to that night at random times but after a while, it doesn’t shock her. What does shock her is how stupid she was because the more she thinks, the more glaring clear the signs were there. The nonexistent space when they stood together, the way she never seen one of them without the other (apart from quidditch training but even then Ellen still sometimes sat in the stands to watch them) and most importantly, the small careful smiles they shared between them, making them seem like the only two people even in a crowd.

She thinks of Steph’s calming smile and how she knows exactly what to say to Leah after losing a quidditch game and how gentle she was with young Ravenclaws and she realizes what an ignorant asshole she’s been to her.

On her last night at home she curls up under her covers, listens to the soft murmurs of her parents talking in the next room and promises herself she’ll talk to Steph as soon as she gets back to school.

********

A full week goes by before Leah actually gets to talk to her.

They’ve just finished quidditch training, things getting even more extreme if that’s possible as they get closer and closer to the announcement of the House Cup victors. Leah takes her time in the training room and waves Keira on as she goes back out to look for her water bottle. 

When she makes her way out to the pitch she sees Steph’s still out, collecting the practice quaffles by herself and Leah stops a few feet away, mouth open but words stuck in her throat as she tries to think of what to say. 

Steph turns around eventually and she frowns slightly when she sees Leah standing there, a mix of apprehension and confusion on her face. They’re both silent at first, Steph waiting to hear what she has to say and Leah waiting for her voice to work again.

“Sorry” she blurts out “I shouldn’t have run away from you and Ellen, it was immature”

“It was understandable” Ellen busies herself with tying the strings of the bag at her feet, avoiding Leah’s eyes as she speaks.

“No Steph it wasn’t” her voice is harsh and when Steph looks up in surprise, Leah sighs and sinks back slightly “I don’t know why I got so freaked but I hate feeling like we’re not getting on and if we don’t get on then our team chemistry will be off and then it might affect our chances at the House Cup and I know how badly you want to win it-”

“Woah slow down kid” Steph laughs and drops her hand onto Leah’s shoulder squeezing it lightly, the gesture relaxing Leah immediately “You’re not going to mess up the team chemistry alright?” she waits for Leah to nod before she continues “and yeah I want to win the House Cup but if we keep playing the way we always do then that will happen by itself”

Leah throws her hand around Stephs waist and hugs her tightly, sighing in relief when her captain's hands come up to rest on her back. She’s glad that whatever weird feelings were between them seem to float away as she stays wrapped up in Stephs arms, feeling safe and understood in the middle of the pitch with someone she’s come to admire a lot over the past few years.

“I’m here for you, whatever you need at any time. Just remember that”

*********

(there’s something about the gentle tone Steph uses and the knowing look in her eyes when she had said that to Leah, as if she knew something Leah has yet to figure out that reminds her of the glances shared between Lucy and Jordan last year in the kitchen and she lays awake in her bed for another hour that night trying to make sense of it all)

(she falls asleep, her last thought of Jordan’s bright smile and the adorable way she scratched at her nose when she got embarrassed and she still doesn’t figure it out)

**********

They lose to Gryffindor in the next game and Ellen looks equal parts surprised and relieved when Leah makes her way over to say congratulations when the final whistle blows but she’s tugged away by Lia before they can say anything else.

This time she doesn’t miss Steph’s fingers stretching out to tangle with Ellen’s and she smiles lightly to herself before Caitlin jumps on her back and she has to concentrate on not losing her balance instead.

“We should have won” Keira grumbles beside her but she brightens instantly when Lucy and Jordan make their way over followed by Viv and Jill and before she knows it Leah’s surrounded by her friends, each of them talking over each other as they loudly debate who’s going to bag the House Cup now after this match puts them neck and neck with Slytherin while Hufflepuff trail only a few points behind.

“As long as it’s not Gryffindor” Jill pipes up and Leah doesn’t have time to move before she finds herself in the middle of a fight when Katie launches herself across the group towards Jill.

‘Honestly, she really should have branched out back in first year’ 

********

(Jordan reaches out to help brush the dirt off Leah, her hand warm against Leah’s cheeks and she’s suddenly grateful that she spent her spare time in the back of the library that first year instead of finding a calmer group of friends)

********

After she talks to Steph it’s like a smoke clears from before her and she can suddenly see things that she hadn’t before. 

It starts when she walks into the Great Hall for breakfast that Monday morning with Lia and Keira, making their way over to the Slytherin table where Viv and Lisa are already sitting.

There’s nothing unusual about that day so she’s not sure why but her eyes sweep over the rest of the table as they walk towards it and her gaze stops when she sees an older Hufflepuff boy sitting beside a grumpy looking Slytherin. She’s seen them together a lot at mealtimes and even as she watches, the Hufflepuff nudges his friend and silently passes him a cup of coffee before turning back to his own meal. The Slytherin takes a sip as he sends a shy smile to the distracted boy and his eyes seem to instantly light up and Leah almost walks into Daan when she realizes what it means.

Daan lifts an eyebrow at her and Leah blushes as she stammers out an apology, fleeing towards the empty seat beside Jordan and determinedly keeping her eyes fixed on her friends for the rest of the meal.

After that, it’s the two Gryffindor girls who sit in front of them in Potions. She never really took notice of them before but this morning is different as she slips into her seat on Tuesday morning by herself, Keira in the hospital wing after she breaks her wrist bone trying to pull off some stupid prank on Daan. 

(Lucy had spent a solid half hour lecturing the rest of them when she finally got sent out from beside Keira’s bed by Professor Scott and they had been on their best behaviour ever since)

Professor Neville is the slowest teacher in the world and Leah’s understandably bored after only ten minutes, having already flicked three different ingredients at Beth and soon enough even that had lost its appeal. 

They catch her attention when one of them scribbles something on her book and the smaller one bursts into quiet giggles. The smile on the face of the girl on her left is so reminiscent of the one Ellen has when she’s walking beside Steph in the halls and it takes Leah utterly aback as she _finally_ realizes how blind she was. 

Their pinkies brush together from where they’re lying beside each other on the table and the blush that colors the taller girls face reminds Leah of the one Jordan usually sports and she finds herself grinning to herself as turns to look out the window, the couple in front of her temporarily forgotten as she remembers the standing study date they’d planned for their next class, the only free period either of them had together.

*********

(she’s the first one out the door and makes the five minute journey to the library in two, a smile uncontrollably forming on her face when she sees Jordan already waiting with a bag of Chocolate Cauldrons on the table and she _still_ doesn’t figure it out)

********

Leah’s walking with Jordan towards the Room of Requirement, Lucy and Keira only a few feet behind when they suddenly find themselves blocked by the same boy who cornered Jordan in the library last year.

“I see you still haven’t found any friends in your own year to hangout with mudblood” he taunts, the venom behind his words making Leah wince slightly but she steps up beside Jordan all the same, already anticipating the tremble in the Hufflepuffs hand. “What, did you pay them to hang out with you?”

“Seriously” Leah tries to sound bored but she can sense Jordan draw in on herself beside her and the worry she feels coursing through her lets itself show in the tight clench of her shoulders “Why don’t you take yourself and your half assed insults and go be a waste of space somewhere else?”

“Watch it blondie” he snarls “you’re already hanging out with the wrong sort of people, do you really want to be insulting the right?”

Leah scoffs but Jordan speaks up before she can. “At least I have friends. I don’t see a whole lot of people lining up to hang out with you”

He mutters something under his breath and when he turns back around, Leah sees his fist raise as if it’s in slow motion and instinctively dives forward to push Jordan away. 

She can faintly hear Jordan let out a worried shout before she feels a sickening crunch against her nose and everything goes black. 

********

When she wakes up again, she’s lying down on a soft bed and there’s a warm blanket over her. She blinks her eyes to readjust them to the light and sees a blurry figure walking towards her. When she rubs at her eyes, the figure comes into focus and she lets out a relieved sigh when she sees it’s Jordan. 

“Hey” she croaks out, trying to smile faintly but giving up when it hurts. 

To her surprise Jordan’s face goes from concerned to angry as she stares down at her. 

“Don’t ever do that again. Do you hear me?” 

“What, stand up for you?” Leah relaxes against the pillow again, raising an eyebrow at the older girl. 

“No! Don’t jump in front of the fist of a sixth year” Jordan exclaimed before she unclenches her fists and stepped closer to the side of the bed “You weren’t opening your eyes Lee,” she trails off and Leah can hear the shake in her voice as she talks. 

“C’mere” Leah whispers, shuffling over in the bed and stretching out her arms for Jordan. When they were wrapped up together in the hospital bed, she traced her knuckles up and down Jordan’s arm for a moment before she spoke again. “I’m right here Jord. I’m not going anywhere, alright?”

Jordan nods her head slightly and Leah can feel her exhale of relief against her collarbone, her hand placed gently on her stomach like she’s almost afraid that if she put too much pressure on Leah, she’d disappear. Leah lets her eyes fall close again, her exhaustion taking over and let’s herself drift off. 

********

(when keira comes to check on her later that evening she stops short at the infirmary door when she sees the two girls curled up fast asleep, their bodies so intertwined it was hard to tell them apart. she smiles and changes direction towards the slytherin common room instead)

********

Her birthday falls on a Friday that year and her friends celebrate after dinner with a cake outside under their tree, swapping jokes and stories that have the tips of Leah’s ears flaming red and her face permanently hidden in Jordan’s shoulder. 

They stay out until Prof. Marley comes along and gently orders them inside, sending a happy birthday to Leah before she heads down to the Herbology greenhouses. Leah’s walking beside Beth and Daan, nodding along to their analysis of the Hufflepuff and Slytherin game from last week when she feels a gentle tug on her elbow and Jordan leans in close to whisper to her.

“Meet me at the Astronomy tower at eleven”

Leah doesn’t have time to ask any questions before Jordan winks and scurries forward to catch up with Lucy, leaving Leah frowning in confusion behind her.

********

The Castle is deathly quiet that night and she almost gets caught by professors twice before she even gets to the winding staircase at the base of the Astronomy tower. When she finally reaches the top, there’s a few candles floating in the air and Jordan’s throwing down a few cushions on top of a blanket with a look of immense concentration. She turns when she hears Leah’s footsteps and her face breaks into a grin straight away.

“Surprise” she smiles, gesturing at the small picnic she has laid out behind her.

“Jord…” Leah whispers, eyes sweeping over everything “this is incredible”

Jordan blushes and reaches up to rub at her nose as she shrugs slightly “I just wanted to do something nice I guess. You seemed upset before Christmas so I wanted to make your birthday really enjoyable”

Leah crosses the room in three strides and wraps her arms around Jordan’s shoulders pulling the smaller girl into a hug which she happily accepts as her own arms come up to clutch onto the back of Leah’s jumper. They stay pressed together like that until Jordan’s stomach rumbles loudly, breaking the moment and she pulls back embarrassed.

“Come on” Leah tugs on her hand to lead her over to the blanket “Let’s eat”

********

“I got you something” 

Jordan sits up suddenly and starts fumbling around in the pocket of her coat that she had shrugged off before they started the picnic.

“You shouldn’t have” Leah protests when Jordan holds out a messily wrapped brown paper package but she accepts it all the same. Jordan’s watching anxiously as she sits up to carefully unwrap it and she can almost feel the nerves that are radiating from her.

It’s a globe with miniature lifelike figures of Jordan and Leah standing inside it on the Hogwarts quidditch pitch and she realizes with a shock that it’s from when she first started for Ravenclaw in a game against Hufflepuff last year. She shakes it lightly and laughs lightly when small pieces of confetti float down on the two statues inside it. 

“Jordan, it’s amazing” she leans forward and wraps her arm around Jordan’s neck awkwardly over the pillows between them. “Thank you”

Leah leans back slightly, still close enough to see the golden flecks in Jordans eyes that always match with her Hufflepuff scarf so well and she surprises herself when she leans forward again to press a soft kiss against Jordan’s check before she pulls back again and shakes the globe to focus on anything that isn’t the loud thumping of her heart against her ribcage.

********

(when she sneaks back into her dormitory room that night she’s still too distracted by the warmth of Jordans cheek against her lips to notice that Keira’s bed is empty)

(she’s getting better at seeing things she hadn’t before but somehow she misses the things closest to her)

********

They win the House Cup that year, Leah and Keira proudly pulling their captain into a hug when it’s announced in the Great Hall before Ellen comes over to congratulate them and when they turn around, they’re bombarded by their friends.

The twelve of them camp out in the Room of Requirement that night, blankets and pillows piled up in the middle of the floor where they gathered together, laughing until their sides hurt and making promises to visit each other during the holidays. 

Leah’s almost on the verge of falling asleep, Jordan buried into her side when she hears two voices whispering quietly together and she opens one eye wide enough to see Lucy and Keira disappearing out the doors together.

She thinks their hands are joined together between their bodies but then Jordan mutters something in her sleep and grips tighter onto Leah’s t-shirt, turning the Ravenclaw’s attention back to her again.

********

(when she wakes up the next morning, she’s too distracted making plans to visit Beth that she completely forgets to ask Keira about it)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i’m so sorry this update is very dragged out but schools been really busy so there mightn’t be another update for a while :/

**Author's Note:**

> if anyone has any ideas for anything past their second year i would appreciate it if they commented them below because i really need the ideas !!


End file.
